Authoress' Note: So sorry for the long update with this story! I have had a real lack in inspiration to write this chapter, and I had to pull teeth out of my ass to get this one done. We're also getting near college mid-terms and I have a lot going on at the barn, so I've just been busy. Plus my brain is working for other stories, but it said I hate you for Twilight's new chapter. But here it is. I'm sorry it's so short, but by the end I almost forgot where I was going with this. As I said again, sorry. And I don't know when the next update will be, seeing as my brain is turning into a pile of Dai-mush.

Disclaimer: I don't know Beyblade or it's characters, Mika and Cybil ish mine baby!

Ceremonial

The group had returned later that night in a smoky silence. Mika had asked both Kai and Takao about what had been spoken between them, but neither of them would falter and reveal the discussion that had occurred. Kai had returned to his tent, so at least it was known that the bluenette had been allowed to remain with the Dragon folk, much to Mika's delight.

But when Mika awoke the next morning, her phoenix was not aside her in their tent. Scrambling to poke her head outside, she noticed Dranzer was not on her usual perch, yet Kai's horse was hitched next to hers and Takao's. Fathering herself, Mika tiptoed over to the tent that Takao and Hiromi occupied.

"Takao? Hiromi? You guys awake? Are you in there?" she whispered into the tent. A few seconds later, a sleepy Takao opened up the tent and walked over to her. "I'm sorry I woke you up, but Kai's gone. He hasn't been exiled has he?" Takao yawned and scratched his head lazily.

"No, no he wasn't. Just don't worry about him, Mi-chan," said Takao heavily. "He'll be back later. Go back to sleep." Takao turned around and walked back into the tent. Mika sighed and reentered her tent. Lying down next to Beo, the ancient ookami rose his head sleepily.

: What troubles you my child:

: It is Kai. He is not here, but Takao isn't worried. I am though since he's not the same anymore.:

: No he isn't Mika dear. And take your friend's advice. Kai will return. Dragoon has not exiled him from the camp. Now sleep my child. Tonight is the young dragon prince's namings ceremony. It is a special time.:

: So the dragons have two names:

:A lot like you pretend. But yes. It is a tradition. They have a children's' name and a formal one.:

: So then what are Takao, Hitoshi, and Cybil's other names:

: Hitoshi's is Hiro, Takao's is Tyson, and Cybil's is Cecil.:

: Why do they have two names:

: It is a right of passage when they get to use their formal name. Now sleep…:

Closing her eyes, Mika listened to her guardian as she shifted onto her side to face the entrance of the tent.

When Hiromi came in to wake up Mika, the ookami princess was disappointed to find that Kai had still yet to return. Hiromi didn't seem upset about Kai's disappearance and tried to get the princess' mind off the hanyou's absence. Both girls went over to Cybil's to help the dragon with the last minute preparations. A few of the dragon folk were rather irate that Cybil was asking for help from the ookamis instead of her own kind, but Cybil just ignored them and welcomed Mika and Hiromi's help.

Mika had been sent to the woods to gather a collection of flowers that had been overlooked for the floral crowns needed for the young child. Gathering the scattered violet flowers, Mika couldn't help but keep her mind from her scrambled questions about Kai. Beo, who had joined her, sat down as comfortably as he could close to his child.

The sun was bright and warm through the various layers of tree leaves. A few squirrels chattered through the treetops and a small rabbit to comfort in the shade. Sighing, Mika gave up trying to think where her phoenix could be, because every thought worried her in a greater magnitude. Beo would not speak of where the prince had gone off to, and remained silent to her.

A snapping of a twig that cracked to Mika's left caught their attention and both turned their head to see Dragoon and Dranzer heading towards them. The bluenette prince leading his horse accompanied the two gods. Mika's heart jumped as she dropped the handful of flowers and ran towards Kai. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she buried her head into his chest. Kai's hands snaked around her protectively.

"What is wrong, Michi?"

"I woke up and you were gone. I was scared because no one would tell me anything. I thought that they had… you had…"

"Don't worry, Michi. Everything is OK…" Mika looked up at him and noticed three large scratches on his face. They hadn't been there the night before and she could feel her stomach churn slightly at the sight of his blood.

"What happened to your face?" she asked softly, raising her padded hand to lightly graze over the lacerations that were drawn through his cheekbones and triangle tattoos. Closing his eyes, Kai held his breath while he grasped her hand gently in his, pulling it away from his face.

"It is nothing that I can't handle," he replied slowly, after collecting his thoughts. There was more he wasn't telling and, as soul mates do, Mika could sense it. But she held her tongue when she noticed the stony glare Kai had sent to her. He did not want to talk about it, and she finally submitted to his request.

"I'm sorry, I… I just couldn't help worrying. The last couple of days were just so much and… I don't' really know what to do, how to act around you right now. I want you to be open with me."

Kai just kept his expression emotionless and firm. Feeling slightly defeated, Mika pulled her hand away and went back to the fall flowers she had haphazardly dropped. As the words had left her mouth, she felt the guilt stabbing her in her back, for she hadn't been open with him.

She had tried, she truly had to tell him the truth, but after he had stopped her back in the cave, Mika hadn't been able to find that opportune time to tell him that she wasn't some common slave girl, but the princess of the country who his grandfather, more so Boris, was trying to take over on their conquest to obtain all the surrounding lands.

But the pair headed back to the camp in silence as Mika separated herself from Kai and went straight to Cybil with the flowers and help on making the crown for the young unnamed son.

With the help of Cybil and a few dragon women who practically tried to rip the flowers from the ookami's hands, Mika was able to create a rather nice looking crown for the young dragon prince.

"So have you told him yet?" Cybil asked calmly towards the princess fixing the last stitching in the only rescued formal dress of the dragon folk. Mika looked up at her with a questioning face.

"Told who what?"

"Mika dear, I am not a child. I know you aren't telling your lover something very important," stated Cybil completing another stitching.

"Um… what are you talking about?"

"If you are ever going to gain his trust, you are going to have to tell him the truth. I think we both know what I'm talking about," smiled Cybil. "Trust me. It is best to be honest with him. Only good can come from it."

Mika sighed and lowered her eyes. "I don't think he'll be so understanding. I mean, he's going through a lot right now, with the whole hanyou thing coming out and all. I don't want to burden him with this lacking information…"

Cybil put down her dress letting it remain unwrinkled in the process before standing up and heading out of the tent. "My dear, it'll ease you a bit to tell him what is really going on. He will find out, sooner than later. You can't hide it forever."

With that, Cybil took her leave from the tent, leaving Mika to the other dragon ladies, who continued to talk about Mika, even though they knew she could understand them. Sighing in defeat, the ookami arose and took her leave from the tent as well and glanced over to her and Kai's tent.

She just couldn't go back in there, no. This was not the time to tell him. Not the time at all.

All day Mika annexed herself from Kai and from most of the village itself. She found climbing up the trees by the river was more peaceful than being around a village of women who were not pleased she was still with them, a man who she couldn't find the courage to tell him the truth, and a woman who gave out great advice, but hard advice to follow.

Nothing bothered her up in the trees; it was the closest feeling she could possibly get as to when she would ride Shintou around the castle, causing some troubles within the servants when she was a young girl. She could remember when she discovered Shintou's invisibility power and how she used it to play some rather fun pranks on Brooklyn until he finally caught onto her games.

Youth was wonderful, innocence was something she was longing for, but she knew that none of those were available to her anymore. She had grown up and she had seen too many things that she could never turn back to her child hood. Memories were the only things left to her of those years, but even those memories had their own tainting.

The ceremonial day arrived rapidly and the whole camp was a mess with the last minute tweaks to the campsite. The hunters took the day off to all attend, and the folk dressed up as nicely as they possibly could, and they removed their war masks in respect.

Hitoshi and Cybil were dressed as elegant as possible and each dawned their own floral crown. Wearing his dragon scale armor proudly, Hitoshi looked different without his mask and paint. Cybil's long ceremonial dress was stitched up and flowing majestically behind her, as her long hair had been tied up with intertwining vines and flowers.

Takao polished up rather nicely as well, wearing some dragon armor that some of the warriors had lent him for the occasion, and Hiromi stood next to him, on his request, looking as if she had stood there all her life. Her face beamed and blushed as she watched the dragon girls murmur behind her and talk in their foreign language about her. Draining out their voices, Takao took Hiromi's arm in his and followed his brother in procession of the ceremony.

Kai appeared for this occasion dressed up in his own royal clothes, but he replaced his armor with a common vest, to not outshine the Kinomiyas in their own celebration. What gave Mika the most surprise was the scratched on his face had disappeared completely from his face without leaving a scar. The hanyou Prince would not talk about what happened in the woods, or why he would disappear from her during the night and early morning, which made it harder and harder for Mika to tell him the truth about her.

The ceremony opened up with a few traditional songs that Mika and Kai could understand, and Takao had lost in his captivity in the Houou territory. With flowers decorated all over the makeshift alter that a few men had created, the babe was laid upon the alter, allowing a view for every village member to see.

Then Cybil took over her role as the new High Priestess and conducted the namings ceremony in her dragon tongue, with Dragoon resting over top of the baby, coiling a circle around him. Kai, Dranzer, Beo, and Mika stood on the far left of the crowd, listening as she explained the history of their people to the infant and the solo songs she was required to sing to him. Takao and Hiromi stood just in front of the alter, and the Dragon leaned down to whisper into Hiromi's ear, telling her exactly what was being said by the High Priestess so the ookami girl was not lost.

As Cybil continued through, Dranzer and Beo continued to explain to Kai and Mika about what everything that was said symbolized and spoken through every namings ceremony. Something was urking Kai, because something just wasn't feeling right at this point in time.

"And here, for now and forever, spoken before the mighty Dragoon himself, the names for this young babe have been inscribed into him, not even his own death could remove his names. So now as I make all bear witness to his graces, I present you with the new Dragon Prince, Kinomiya-"

But as Cybil was commencing to speak of the names of the baby before her, a rain of arrows shot through the crowd, piercing a few of the dragons, and rising terror within the people.

Takao quickly took Hiromi under his arm, as Cybil did to the baby, Hitoshi to Cybil, and Kai to Mika. Looking up from where the arrows had come, Kai narrowed his eyes when he saw the brilliant red feathered helmets riding towards them. Houou soldiers.

The women were banshees, racing to find a place to run and hide; the men where rushing to get to their own weapons and defense lines, and the children were crying out.

"Hurry!" cried Hitoshi trying to get Cybil and his baby to safety. Some of the men had managed to grab their horses and their weapons quicker than others, and rather organized by themselves, charged up towards the oncoming Houous, trying to give the villagers time to get away.

Kai and Mika darted into their tents, as Takao, already with his sword on him, boosted Hiromi into the saddle. Mika quickly grabbed her Hiraikotsu and raced over to her horse.

"No Michi!" shouted Kai running after her. Grabbing onto her wrist, he gave it a firm tug. "You are not fighting this one. Get out of here."

"You think after all this time I am going to sit around and watch your soldiers destroy what is left of Takao's heritage!" snarled Mika, un-approving of the command.

Kai snapped his head back and released her wrist, his eyes flashing the dangerous purple, but Mika met him square, before kicking her horse off and towards the battle area.

You can't let her die. I will punish you if something happens to her.

Grabbing his own sword, Kai launched himself onto his horse and tore off after the ookami girl, not waiting to hear Takao tell him to wait for him.

His eyes were set on Mika, who let her weapon go with a mighty swing, sending it flying towards a few Houous and slicing them. The battle continued to wage on as Kai joined in, letting his sword be engulfed once again by the flames his body created.

The voice of the demon inside of him continued to talk him through the battle, and also kept his own eyes on Mika, watching to make sure the girl remained unharmed. Something was not right about her, and the demon, or Kai for that matter, did not want anything to happen to worsen the illness he sensed.

Hitoshi held his fair share of battles, and let it be known as he started to tear through the Houou's line. "PRESS ON!" he shouted, urging the men to push back the depleting number of Houous.

A cry was heard as the dragon women were trying to escape, but a few Houous were slipping through the defenses and chasing after them. Spinning her horse after them, Mika urged on faster as she started to catch up and screamed for the women to duck and dive to the ground.

Surprisingly enough, many of them did so, and Mika let her Hiraikotsu go, slicing through a few soldiers.

But still some managed to avoid the first attack, and the women continued to run, Cybil amongst them holding her baby tightly. The babe was crying as the atmosphere around him continue to be a tainted red.

"Come here you ol' bitches!" cried a soldier grabbing a hold of Cybil's shoulder, and yanking her back to him. In reaction, she send her hand flying back at the soldier, nails crazing over his face and leaving indents. "You hag!" The soldier send the woman flying into a tree, the grip on her baby faded as she soon found herself baby-less and smashing her head into a tree.

"NO!" cried Mika as she sent her sword again at the soldier, decapitating the man with one blow. Leaping off her horse, Mika first ran to the woman's side, kneeling down next to her. Cybil remained motionless, as Mika turned her to cradle her in her arms.

Eyes closed, the blood soaked down her forehead, streaming down her neck and body. She appeared to be a sleeping angel.

"Cybil… Cybil. Wake up please!" she cried, shaking the woman lightly, causing the floral crown to finally fall off her head and to the ground. Tears swelled up in her eyes as the High Priestess remained unresponsive, causing Mika's frustration and denial to grow.

"Wake up, damnit!" But she wouldn't. And at that, Mika finally felt the tears rain out of her eyes. Looking up, she looked towards where the baby had landed, and he too did not move. "No… No… NO!"

"Yes!" Mika looked up to see a foot soldier running straight at her, his sword raised and ready to strike.

Letting out a scream, Mika clung onto Cybil's body desperately. Kai and Hitoshi both snapped their necks over in her direction, to see another army coming up behind her and the soldier racing at her.

Kai growled as his eyes flashed once more, and he lost himself. Leaping off his horse, could feel the voice taking over again and his body light up in flames, transforming him into his phoenix form, and causing the new arm to halt.

Screaming loudly, the Phoenix tore through the soldier, allowing Mika to get up and carry Cybil's body with her. Snatching up the baby, Mika ran back towards the Dragons. Rage filled Kai as he continued to take on this army, and within minutes wipe it out completely.

Soaking in their blood, Kai's eyes turned towards the Dragons, whom Mika had just presented Cybil and the baby's body to Hitoshi and the other Dragons.

"No…" whispered Hitoshi softly, holding his mate's life-less body in his arms. "No this is not true. CYBIL!" Hitoshi's voice rang out as a cry, cradling the body and holding her closely. The dragons fell silent as Hitoshi cried into her blood soaked hair, his hands soon covered in the liquid.

The Phoenix cocked his head at the sight and smell of blood.

Don't let him steal your blood…

The Phoenix screeched again, causing all heads to turn to see the large hanyou flying straight for them.

"Watch out!" cried Mika, shoving Hitoshi out of the way and diving down, all others following her example as the Phoenix soared over them. The heat radiating off his body was intense. Hitoshi rolled away, accidentally letting go of his Cybil. Scrambling up, he tried to run towards her, but the Phoenix landed between him and the body.

"HANYOU!" shouted Hitoshi, in an authoritarian voice. The Phoenix just snapped, snaking his head at the Dragon leader's direction. Jumping barely out of the way, Hitoshi drew his sword. But the Phoenix went after him again, desperately trying to get to the blood that coated the Dragon.

"KAI!" shouted Mika and Takao. But the Phoenix ignored them, going after once again the blood.

Dranzer and Dragoon launched themselves at the hanyou, using their powers to cause the large creature to fall onto his side.

"Stop it Kai," demanded Takao, as all the Dragons surrounded the Phoenix with their weapons raised.

"Don't tell me what to do," snarled the Phoenix. "It is I who has all the control."

"Kai. Please stop this. What is it? You killed all your soldiers. Cybil and the baby are dead! ENOUGH HAVE DIED! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" cried Mika. The Phoenix snapped at Hitoshi's direction once more. Mika blinked, and didn't know what to think.

"Mine."

"What's yours?" asked Takao daring to take a step closer to the enraged Phoenix.

"Heat… I need more…"